ZEV-UP played an active role in the ITS European Congress 2025, held in Seville, Spain, from 19 to 21 May. Bringing together leading experts in the ITS community, the event explored the future of clean, resilient, and connected mobility. ZEV-UP was present in three Special Interest Sessions, presented a research paper, and took centre stage at the ERTICO stand with its demonstrator vehicle.
ZEV-UP was proud to showcase a demonstrator vehicle developed by our partner Beemobs, which drew significant attention at the ERTICO stand throughout the event. Visitors had the chance to step inside the vehicle, explore its design, and learn more about ZEV-UP’s approach to sustainable urban mobility. An information display highlighted additional features that the future ZEV-UP vehicle will integrate, including battery swapping, 5G-enabled remote driving, improved crash safety, in-wheel motor, and 3D printed customised parts, available in three variants to meet different user needs. Our partners Beemobs and Ford Otosan were on-site to engage with visitors and provide more details on the vehicle’s technical innovations. The vehicle demonstration was key highlight for the project and represented ZEV-UP’s core principles of frugality, modularity, and zero-emission, generating interest and discussions around the future of ultra-compact Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).
ZEV-UP opened its participation in the technical programme with SIS 6 “Ultra-compact BEVs: a game-changing solution?”. Moderated by ZEV-UP Coordinator, Emin Aliyev (ERTICO), the session explored how ultra-compact BEVs can transform urban mobility and how to foster user acceptance. Speakers included Hassan Mahdavi (VEDECOM), Saki Gerassis Davite (European Commission), Emrah Kinav (Ford Otosan), and Jehan de Thé (Europcar). In his presentation, Emrah Kinav highlighted that as more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, issues around congestion, emissions, and parking spaces need to be addressed. Ultra-compact vehicles like the ZEV-UP vehicle can help address these issues while meeting user needs, with technologies like teleoperation (remote operation) supporting their integration into smart mobility systems.
These insightful discussions continued the second day of the Congress. Moderated by Prisca Numbisi (ERTICO), SIS 28 “Impact of fleet electrification on urban mobility and sustainability” examined various initiatives in e-mobility and their potential to reduce emissions and improve air quality and liveability in urban areas. Alican Yilmaz (Beemobs) underlined the benefits of compact Electric Vehicles (EVs) like the ZEV-UP car, such as lower traffic congestion, reduced costs, and efficient space use. Haibo Chen (University of Leeds) presented the market potential of ultra-compact BEVs and showed that as most trips are short-distance, such vehicles offer a promising option for urban mobility. Other trends of fleet electrifications were explored by Lidia Buenavida Pena (ERTICO, eBRT2030 project) and Tom Mauno (City of Fredrikstad, SUM project).
In SIS 37 “Empowering mass deployment of EVs: current barriers and opportunities”, moderated by Paulo Cantillano-Lizana (ICOOR), the focus shifted to user behaviour and engagement as drivers of electric mobility. The panel featured speakers from several EU-funded projects, including Emin Aliyev (ERTICO, ePowerMove), Raphaël Héliot (e-Mobility Europe, Flow), Friedericke Kühl (Etelätär Innovation, Battery2Life), and Evangelia Portouli (ICCS, eCharge4Drivers). Representing ZEV-UP, Theocharis Vlachopanagiotis (Rhoé) highlighted the user benefits of ultra-compact EVs, including shorter charging times and easier parking thanks to their smaller batteries and dimensions.
ZEV-UP also contributed to a Research Paper session with the paper “Heuristic Framework for Assessing the Impact of Introducing Small Parking Lots”, presented by Paulo Cantillano-Lizana (ICOOR). The paper focuses on small parking lots for ultra-compact BEVs, which are particularly promising in commercial areas and in countries with higher adoption of smaller vehicles.
